A variety of different contaminants may be introduced into a fuel system when filling a fuel tank at a service station or the like. These contaminants may include debris associated with the processing and handling of petroleum distillates, as well as debris resulting from corrosion or other phenomena associated with transport, storage and pumping mechanisms. In addition, corrosion within a fuel system, debris scraped off of moving components, thread material and chemical reactions can all be sources of particles within a fuel system resident on a machine. Regardless of source, the negative effects of fuel debris in internal combustion engines are well known, and can affect the operation of components as well as the combustibility of fuel.
A great many types of debris reducing filtration systems for fuel have been proposed over the years. It is common for debris screens to be placed within a flow path of fuel supplied from a fuel tank to fuel injectors of an internal combustion engine. In recent years, certain strategies have been developed which utilize fuel for purposes other than primary powering of the engine. Among these is the use of fuel in burners coupled with engine exhaust systems, for elevating exhaust temperatures to initiate or assist in the combustion of trapped particulate materials within exhaust particulate traps. In one known system of this general type, a mixture of diesel fuel and air is supplied into an exhaust conduit, and ignited prior to or upon entering the exhaust stream. The combusting fuel and air produces a flame jet which raises a temperature of gases passing to a particulate trap, in turn inducing or assisting in the combustion of trapped particulates, such that the combusted materials pass to an exhaust outlet. Fuel filtering mechanisms have been used for some time to filter fuel supplied to such aftertreatment burners, however, conventional fuel filtering strategies in this and other environments could be improved. As with any fluid filtration system, fuel filters tend to clog or decrease in filtration efficiency over time. Conventional fuel filters may not always be readily accessible or removable for servicing or replacement, however.